It appears that a Ukrainian Military exercise in which an advanced SA-200 SAM missile was being tested may have gone horribly ary.
See story at:
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8474-2001Oct4.html[/url]
From the article:
MOSCOW, Oct. 4 -- A Russian airliner en route to Siberia from Tel Aviv with 76 people aboard exploded over the Black Sea today just after Ukrainian troops launched a surface-to-air missile in a military training exercise, U.S. officials said.
The missile launch was picked up by satellites equipped with infrared sensors at the Defense Department's early warning center at Fort Meade, the officials said. The commercial airliner, which broke into pieces and fell into the Black Sea, may have been mistaken for an unmanned target, one official said.
Russian ships rushed to the crash site about 114 miles off the Georgian coast of the Black Sea, but there were no survivors, according to news reports. Rescue workers recovered only dead bodies among the floating suitcases and debris.
* * *
The Ukrainian military was conducting exercises involving the firing of surface-to-air missiles, such as the S-200, known in the West as the SA-5 "Gammon," which has a range that would have been capable of reaching the commercial jet.
* * *
In Israel, Interior Minister Natan Sharansky said the Pentagon had told Israeli officials that a stray missile might have downed the plane. Still, he said, investigators were pursuing all theories, including a terrorist attack.
The plane, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet, departed Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at 9:58 a.m. local time. Security checks at the airport are typically very stringent. On board Sibir Airlines' weekly Flight 1812 to Novosibirsk were 51 Israeli citizens, most of them recent immigrants taking advantage of the Jewish holiday Sukkot to visit relatives.
* * *
At the same time, Ukrainian naval, air, rocket and artillery forces were conducting exercises about 160 miles away, in the Crimean region of Ukraine. They were firing antiaircraft rockets, including the S-125, which NATO has designated the SA-3; the S-200; and the S-300, which NATO calls the SA-10 or SA-12.
[b]The S-200 has a range of 185 miles, flies faster than three times the speed of sound and can hit targets above 100,000 feet[/b].
* * *
One U.S. official said a satellite detected "the launch of a missile at almost precisely the same time the airliner went down." He added, "There are other indicators that also point in that direction." Ukrainian news reports said the airspace would be closed today in the area where the plane went down.
Another U.S. official said the plane was apparently hit by an S-200 missile. He said the missile must have missed its real target, and a device aboard the missile, known as a "semi-active seeker" sought out the passenger jet instead.
* * *
In Moscow, Putin ordered rescue teams to search carefully for the flight data recorder. But officials said what is left of the plane is submerged in deep water and the chances of recovery are slim. Israel also sent a combined naval and air force team to the region to search for survivors. By late tonight, 10 bodies had been recovered.
Eric The(Saddened)Hun[>]:)]

Had another thought...Do the Russians have some BAD TEST PROCDURES or what??
First it was the Kursk blowing up while testing a rocket-propelled torpedo and now it looks like they splashed one of their own airliners with a S/A missle.
At least they practice on their own targets.

Originally Posted By Arock:
Had another thought...Do the Russians have some BAD TEST PROCDURES or what??
First it was the Kursk blowing up while testing a rocket-propelled torpedo and now it looks like they splashed one of their own airliners with a S/A missle.
At least they practice on their own targets.

View Quote

Russians and Ukrainians are COMPLETELY different people.
also, this whole affair smacks of TWA 800, only we are more willing to believe the lies of our own govt. before the lies of foreign govts.

Tin foil hat time... [whacko]
The "errant SAM" theory seems a little fishy to me in light of the following factors:
1) The US announced that a missile hit the plane almost immediately after the crash. How could they be so sure so quickly? Maybe it was faulty wiring in the fuel tanks.
2) It was a plane full of Israelis -- a prime target for terrorists.
3) It crashed over water, making recovery of the wreckage extremely difficult.
4) It would take a major screw-up to have airliners and test missiles flying in the same area at the same time.
5) Why would the Ukrainians lie if they knew that their story wouldn't hold up very long?
So while a mis-directed missile [i]could[/i] have brought down the plane, it does seem like quite a coincidence.

Fatty, the exercise is a JOINT Russian/Ukranian military exercise. The territory in question is under control of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. And the missile described is Russian design and deployment. Ukranian forces could be training up on the system tho'.
My post was somewhat tounge-in-cheek, but I feel the claimed release of NRO intelligence would have been WAAYYY too early.

at any rate, does anyone remember seeing the TWA 800 rebuilt? i loved the huge hole ABOVE the cabin where no parts could be found (even though the rest was) sure looked like a missle hole to me!
...man, this tin-foil really itches when worn full time!